Mental health patients being treated in city

The number of patients with mental health issues being sent out of Sheffield for treatment has been reduced.

Four years ago, an average of 22 people at any time were treated outside the city due to pressures on beds, with treatment away from typically lasting for 50 days.

But Sheffield Health & Social Care say that after addressing the issue with new care in the community policies and building a new psychiatric intensive care unit, no-one has been sent out of city due to lack of bed availablility for acute adult beds for the last 18 months.

Over the same period, 20 service users have returned to Sheffield from locked rehabilitation placements out of city and are now living independently in their own flats in the community in the city.

Dr Mike Hunter, clinical director for inpatient and community directorates, said: “We are fully committed to creating models of care which support service users’ recovery in their home city. Regular contact with carers, friends and family members are key factors in service user recovery and by designing our services we are making sure that service users are able to be supported with their recovery journey as close to home as possible.”